Marin Voice: Scientific questions and Point Reyes' oysters

IN JUNE 2011, the United States Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration launched a nationwide initiative to increase shellfish populations in the nation's coastal waters.

According to NOAA, the environmental benefits include providing habitat for endangered and threatened species; species recovery; cleaner water and nutrient removal; and shoreline protection.

The states serving as partners in expanding opportunities for shellfish farming and restoration include Washington and California, which are members of the Seattle-based Pacific Coast Shellfish Growers Association, as well as Maryland, Louisiana, and Alabama.

NOAA singles out the Washington state shellfish initiative as an example of a "comprehensive federal, state, and industry partnership that promotes new economic opportunities, restoration and improved water quality, as well as science on the impacts of ocean acidification on local oysters."

The Pacific Coast Shellfish Grower's Association, as well as local Tomales Bay growers, strongly supports the continuation of shellfish cultivation in Drakes Estero.

Recently Washington Congressman Doc Hastings announced an investigation into the science used to evaluate the environmental impacts of the Drakes Bay Oyster Co.He said, "The National Park Service has for years been dogged by allegations that the science used to estimate harbor seal disturbances and more recently impacts on the national seashore's soundscape do not justify closure of the Drakes Bay Oyster Co., which has provided a sustainable source of shellfish in northern California. ... It is imperative that the department's decision be based on sound science . ..."

Despite the millions of dollars spent on National Park Service science found lacking in studies by the National Academy of Sciences, the Marine Mammal Commission, the Department of the Interior Inspector General and the department's Solicitor General's Office, there have been no studies on the potential impact on Drakes Estero of removing the shellfish, in particular the oysters.

This is particularly short sighted at a time when millions of dollars are being spent to restore oysters because of their environmental benefits.

As water and climate scientist Peter Gleick has said, "Good science is not Democratic or Republican. Scientific integrity, logic, reason, and the scientific method are core to the strength of our nation. We may disagree among ourselves about matters of opinion and policy, but we (and our elected representatives) must not misuse, hide or misrepresent science and fact in service of our political wars."

The legal issues raised by Interior Secretary's Kenneth Salazar's denying DBOC an upland permit, including the state's right to lease the Drakes Estero water bottoms for shellfish cultivation, are in the hands of the courts.

In California, the Fish and Game Commission has reasserted its continuing right to harvest oysters in the estuary. But whatever the outcome in the courts, the public, particularly the community that is impacted by National Park Service actions, has an interest in understanding the process that led to Secretary Salazar's decision.

Congress, not the judicial system, is best equipped to investigate and make transparent that process. Congressman Hasting inquiry could be a helpful first step.

Congressman Jared Huffman has an outstanding record in support of the environment over the years, both as an attorney for the National Resources Defense Council and during his tenure in the state Assembly. His district includes all the shellfish growing areas along the coast north of San Francisco.

I urge all environmentalists, whether they support sustainable agriculture or advocate for wilderness protections, to join in asking Congressman Huffman to demonstrate the courage of his convictions as an environmentalist and seize the opportunity to turn the House Committee on Natural Resources investigation into a bipartisan effort to ensure that the best science available is used in making decisions that affect the future of Drakes Estero and other shellfish producing areas around the country.

Longtime Marin architect Sim Van der Ryn is a former state architect and has served as a professor of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley.